Australian Football League Side Collingwood To Earn $9M From Extended Emirates Sponsorship

Australian Football League side Collingwood has extended its "lucrative uniform sponsorship with Emirates" and will earn an estimated A$10M ($9M) from the airline over the next five years in a "deal that highlights the growing gap between the AFL’s haves and have-nots," according to Mark Hawthorne of THE AGE. The Emirates deal will help the club top $A20M in "combined sponsorship and merchandise revenue" for the '14 season, a feat "only previously achieved" by Essendon and Richmond in the AFL. Last year, AFL Hawthorn banked A$19M in sponsorship and merchandise revenue, Essendon earned A$20.1M and Richmond led the AFL with A$22.9M -- "more than half the Tigers' total revenue" of A$44.8M. The new Emirates contract will "extend the airline’s partnership with the Magpies to 20 years" (THE AGE, 3/21).